NEWS: Congressman Greg Casar Calls for Reduced School Closures & More Time to Save San Antonio ISD Schools

SAN ANTONIO – Today, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) sent a letter to San Antonio ISD board members to request that they reduce the number of school closures and create additional time for the community to create plans to save schools. Currently, the final neighborhood community engagement meeting will be tonight. 

As an Austin City Council Member, Casar was a strong and vocal advocate for saving Webb Middle School in his district – the school is now thriving today. 

“Saving San Antonio schools is possible, but it will take time, creativity, and resources being brought to the table,” said Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas). “As we work to bring adequate funds back to San Antonio for our schools, I hope that the school district will provide enough time for community solutions to come to fruition and reduce closures as much as possible.” 

In 2019 in Austin, the community came together to save Webb Middle School. They organized meetings and community conversations, and discovered that the biggest problem was family instability, which leads to homelessness, high mobility, and absenteeism. The families, community activists, and community partners came up with a school improvement plan that became a community school plan. They built about 30 local partnerships to support family health, housing, job security, and enrichment opportunities as well as programs to overcome language barriers. 

In the current San Antonio ISD plan, seven schools are set to close within Texas Congressional District 35, including Pershing Elementary, Tynan Early Childhood, Lamar Elementary, Storm Elementary, Collins Garden Elementary, Ogden Elementary, and Nelson Early Childhood Center. Additionally, there are seven schools not directly within TX-35 that many constituents work at or attend.
 

The letter can be viewed below and here. 

Dear San Antonio ISD Board Members and Superintendent:

I write to raise my constituents’ concerns regarding San Antonio ISD’s plan to close 19 schools. I have heard overwhelmingly from community members that they want to reduce this number of school closures, and that they want additional time to create plans to save their schools.

Seven schools are set to close within Texas Congressional District 35, including Pershing Elementary, Tynan Early Childhood, Lamar Elementary, Storm Elementary, Collins Garden Elementary, Ogden Elementary, and Nelson Early Childhood Center. Additionally, there are seven schools not directly within TX-35 that many of my constituents work at or attend.

Many of my constituents have expressed concerns about these closures. Public schools are a vital component of our working class neighborhoods. Closing schools that we cannot easily reopen should be a last resort.

That is why I respectfully request that you reduce the number of schools being considered for closure, and that you provide time for the community to come up with creative strategies to save their schools.

As a Member of Congress and former City Council Member, I know first-hand that these decisions aren’t easy. The State of Texas severely underfunds public education, and top state officials’ neglect of our schools forces local communities to do more and more with fewer resources. Furthermore, top Texas officials are advocating for a school voucher scam that would make matters worse for students and teachers. That is why I am a sponsor of federal legislation that would bring millions of federal dollars home to San Antonio’s schools to make up for Texas officials’ neglect. 

Many neighborhood associations and organizations have only begun developing proposals to save their neighborhood schools. These plans will take time. As we work to bring adequate funds back to San Antonio for our schools, I hope you will provide enough time for these community solutions to come to fruition, and that you reduce closures as much as possible.

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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio.  A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 118th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Agriculture.